Dragon's Blood
by completelysherlocked
Summary: Alice is going to leave Wonderland. Alternate ending to the 2010 movie. Spoilers too.


I saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland yesterday, and oh my gosh it was amazing. My friends and I discussed the ending, and (SPOILERS NOW) we thought there should have been something, even if it was nothing much, between the Hatter and Alice. Friends told me to write that, and eventually it transformed into less of just a Hatter/Alice fic, but more of an alt ending.

Enjoy!~

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Alice watched the White Queen gracefully lift a small vile from her many layers of white dress and hold it under the Jabberwock's tooth. Lilac blood dripped down, clinging to the curve of the tooth, where it would come to the tip and drip onto the concrete if the vile wasn't directly under the steady drip to catch it. She hadn't noticed those she had come to call friends while she was in her wonderland come together in a group behind her.

The White Queen looked over at Alice and smiled. She held the vile with the purple liquid between her index finger and thumb, her arm outstretched, towards Alice. She frowned. "What's this?" She asked, taking the bottle gingerly in her own hand. "This is Jabberwock blood. It is very valuable, and I present it to you as a gift for saving Wonderland from the wrath of the Red Queen." The White Queen grasped Alice's free hand with both of her own. Her smile flickered for a moment, and she continued. "If you drink it," she said, her voice sweet and motherly, "it will take you home."

Alice suddenly felt the way she had felt many times. She wanted to run, run to a secluded area where no one could find her. She was torn; she yearned to live her life, discover things, be things in the real world, yet she wanted to stay in Wonderland and explore it's beauty and be around the ones who were just as mad as she was, the ones who, in a very odd way, seemed to understand her. She turned her head, her silver armor clanking with her movement, and looked at the cluster of odd creatures who were all blinking back at her, none of them smiling.

She turned back, her eyes focused on the stones under her metal-clad feet. Alice felt the cool surface of the glass vile clutched in her palm. "Alice?" A timid, wacky voice came from behind her, a voice she'd recognize in a thousand. She spun around, and the Mad Hatter was standing there, his expression sad. He was surprisingly serious given his supposed mental state. "You... don't have to leave. You could stay here... with us!" He ended his sentence with a high pitched laugh. The corners of Alice's mouth twitched into a smile at the mere sound of the Hatter's laugh.

"I would certainly love to." Alice said, looking the Hatter in the eyes. His face brightened for a moment, but she continued, less optimistically. "But, you see, I want to return to my world. I'd like to live the way I always have been for all my life, have the same opportunities, and work with my father's business. As much as I'd like to stay," she paused, and looked around at her friends around her. She was more speaking to all of them now. "I really must go back."

The Hatter frowned and muttered, "Won't you forget us? Me?"

Alice couldn't hold on to her tough, strong façade. At the Hatter's face, at all of their dejected expressions, she nearly jumped forward and threw her arms around the Hatter. Although she couldn't see it, for her head was buried in his shoulder, the Hatter was surprised at Alice's gesture. He looked at the White Queen, who was looking on at the scene, smiling. Upon seeing his confused expression, she clasped her white gloved hands near her heart and nodded.

The Hatter wrapped his arms around the young woman. She broke away slightly and looked up at her friend. "I would miss you all terribly." She spoke to everyone, though her eyes never left the Hatter's. "I couldn't forget you, and one day, before you know it, I'll be back!" Alice tried to sound as optimistic as possible. She wasn't sure how she'd come back, but she'd find a way.

The Hatter's arm still around her waist, she turned to face her friends. They were all smiling now, for the situation had a light at the end of it's long, dark tunnel. The Tweedles waddled towards Alice and each tried to hug her at the same time. One pushed the other, and they had a small slap fight that was stopped when Alice knelt down and embraced both of them in turn. The White Queen approached her, and stopped barely a foot from her. She drew her pale fingers across Alice's cheek and leaned in close to Alice's left side. "You best be going now," she whispered into her ear. "We pleasantly await your next visit to Wonderland."

Alice faced the Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse, the white rabbit, the March Hare, the Tweedles and the White Queen for the last time. The Hatter was grinning, the gap between his front teeth showing. As she uncapped the vile and lifted it to her mouth, the Cheshire Cat appeared by her ear and whispered, "Good luck, Alice."

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Review if you'd like :)


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